— Aaron Chang National Sales Manager Bob Tanner has recently expanded his sales team by adding two new reps. Dawn Strodthoff (who also reps for Velvet Eyewear) has been brought on to handle all Midwest accounts, and Merle Varner (current Body Glove Wetsuits rep) will take care of Texas/Gulf Coast.

The company has also added San Diegan Aaron Wonders to the team, as well as Charlie Parker (Santa Cruz, California) and Corban Cambell (Florida).

— Andy and Bruce Irons have signed long-term accessory contracts with Dakine. Additionally, Prue Jeffries and Falina Spires have joined the team, and Dakine teamriders Pancho Sullivan, Jason “Ratboy” Collins, and Shea Lopez have extended their contracts. The rest of the team includes Adam Replogle, Dean Randazzo, Cody Steele, Micah Nickens, national’s winner Sean Moody, and new upstart and air-show winner Randy “Goose” Welch.

— The Realm has reached new agreements with its existing roster of pro surfers, including Tom Curren, Bron Huessenstamm, Jesse Merle- Jones, Chris Drummy, and Pat O’Connell. All five athletes agreed to three-year deals.

— Sole Technology (Etnies, éS, Emerica, 32) welcomes East Coast Marketing Representative Craig Metzger to the family. Based in New York, Metzger will be working with East Coast magazines and events, as well as scouting new talent with the teams department.

— O’Neill International is happy to announce the signing of Australian Trent Munro to Team O’Neill for the next three years. Munro will be the first O’Neill surfer to represent all O’Neill products worldwide — wetsuits, clothing, footwear, and accessories.

— Globe Shoes has hired former Broadband Interactive group VP of Marketing Kevin Flanagan as vice president of marketing. Flanagan will manage Globe’s international marketing drive, developing directional strategies for all mediums with a continued emphasis on the consistent representation of all brands — or something like that.

— C.T. Taylor, originally from Satellite Beach, Florida, has joined the Rip Curl team. The 29-year-old Pacific Beach transplant also rides for Cordell, Bora Bora, Smith, and Etnies, and likes American muscle cars. Fascinating.

— Smith’s So Cal sales rep Todd Bousman has been named Smith promotions manager, and Casey Rydzeski has been hired to fill the sales position. Bousman will assist the corporate headquarters in Sun Valley, Idaho with developing and building strength in the Southern California market. Rydzeski will take over the sales-rep duties in San Diego County.In other news, Smith has added Hawai’ian hellman Tamayo Perry to its team. Perry will help lead the charge with other teamriders like Panchoullivan, Conan Hayes, and Dan Malloy.

— TransWorld’s own Blair Marlin is now the DC Shoe Co. surf team manager and assistant team manager for the motocross division.

— Joe McNulty has joined Body Glove Wetsuits as surf brand manager, and he’s finally back in the water after nursing a bulged disc that sidelined him for more than six months. One word: Yoga.

— Arnette’s Jim “Pinkachu” Pinkerton called to say the company’s hired Chris Drummy as its field team manager.

— Neil Pryde, longtime OEM wetsuit manufacturer, is now offering its own line of suits. To rally attention, NP has signed three A-list teamriders: Jeremy Heit, Eric McHenry, and Ken Caldwell. Additional recruits include Eric Vallely, Rio Flores, Brandon Guilmette, Michael Maurer, and Bill and John Bouett. [IMAGE 1]

— Long-time Volcom teamrider Daniel Terry out of Jacksonville Beach, Florida is now the man in charge of all East Coast promotions for VeeCo. In addition, Sean Slater has been assigned East Coast ambassador. Slater and Terry will be working together on various projects and events. Look forward to this duo rocking the East! Congratulations go out to Volcom’s Troy Powell and wife, who recently welcomed baby son Milo Powell.

— Roy Powers from Kaua’i is the first U.S. rider signed to the powerful Creatures of Leisure surf team, which includes Mick Fanning, Luke Egan, Jake Paterson, Taj Burrow, Luke Hitchings, Shane Powell, Joel Parkinson, and David Rastovich.

— Jerry Lund has joined Greg Noll Oceanwear as vice president of sales. Lund will be responsible for managing Greg Noll Oceanwear’s team of salespeople and expanding and strengthening the customer base.

— FreeStyle USA welcomes Creative Service Manager Marcus Graczyk, Product Merchandiser Angie Sharp, and Marketing Manager Pattie McCann to the team. Graczyk joins FreeStyle after six years of leading the marketing-design creative team for Diamondback bicycles. Sharp spent more than seven years at Fossil, Inc. in various positions, including product coordinator for leather accessories, product manager for the Relic brand, and brand manager for a group of private-label watches. McCann joins FreeStyle with eleven years’ experience in advertising, marketing, public relations, and sales promotion.

— Surf Prescriptions is happy to announce that Donavon Frankenreiter has signed on to ride for Surf RX. Surf Prescriptions would also like to congratulate Brad Gerlach on his amazing approach to the giant waves of Cortes Banks, 100 miles off the San Diego coast. “I’ve seen a lot of big-wave surfing,” says Aaron Chang, “but I’ve never seen big-wave performance surfing like Brad’s.”

— Utopia Optics has just signed Rory Parker. In addition, the eyewear company has hired Eddie Doyle to rep the Atlantic Northeast and Hunter McDonald for Texas.

— Sticky Bumps is proud to announce that Travis Mellem has signed a one-year contract for wax and pads. Mellem was recently featured in the Sticky Bumps video, “Team Files,” and will be representing the Sticky Bumps brand along with his other sponsors, No Fear, Becker, Reef, Body Glove, Oakley, and Surf One.

— Mike Parsons has teamed up with Billabong to spearhead a new era of big-wave surfing.

— Andrew R. Coulson has been named CEO of Broadband Interactive Group (BIG). Coulson was recently retained as a special consultant to BIG, responsible for developing the firm’s strategic direction. In his new expanded role of CEO, he will be responsible for the overall operations of the enterprise. Broadband also announced that C. J. Olivares, will assume the role of executive vice president of a division of BIG, Bluetorch TV. for the overall operations of the enterprise. Broadband also announced that C. J. Olivares, will assume the role of executive vice president of a division of BIG, Bluetorch TV.